The First Book of Demons

by Raquel Dove

Alex didn’t want to speak to Balthazar. She didn’t even want to be around him. She was so mad at him for what he did to Simiri. The phoenix had burst into flames shortly after they made it into Temel’s house and Balthazar had bottled up her ashes. Alex didn’t know her, but she knew that what he did was wrong, just based on the way the poor woman screeched and wailed while they had her tied up. More than being mad at him, she was just hurt. The way he had looked at her left no doubt in her mind how he felt about her. She hadn’t been able to look at him, much less speak to him the entire way back to the palace, and he hadn’t wanted to speak to her either.

  Now, he had summoned her to his office and that made her even angrier. He had the nerve to summon her after everything, as if he had every right in the world to do that. Maybe this was his kingdom, but she wasn’t one of his people. She had helped him and she fully intended to get him to help her now. It was time for her to go home and she intended to make him keep his promise to help her.

  “So this is the human,” Salaman said, his eyes scanning Alex curiously. She sat across from Balthazar, her arms crossed over her chest and face turned away from him. “She seems like such a frail little thing.”

  “She is,” Balthazar said. Alex could feel his eyes on her but she refused to look at him. She clenched her jaw to keep from saying anything.

  Salaman reached across the desk and uncorked the glass bottle that held Simiri’s remains. He made a show of peering into the bottle before he poured the ashes onto the center of the desk.

  “I’m not so sure that she is, boy,” Salaman said. Balthazar scoffed and Alex decided that she liked this old demon. She hadn’t heard anybody talk to Balthazar the way he did, except maybe for herself. She turned her head toward the desk and focused on the little pile of ashes.

  “He killed her,” Alex said, still refusing to look at Balthazar. The way she felt was clear in her voice. “He killed her for no apparent reason at all.”

  “Yes,” Salaman said. He picked up the griffin egg and shook it a little by his ear. “Because I told him to.”

  Alex was shocked as she turned to look at Salaman. Her mouth hung slack for a moment as she processed the information. Finally, she turned her head to look at Balthazar. He was studying her intently but she couldn’t discern what he was thinking.

  “Why?” Alex said, “Why would you do that? You killed her. You know that right?”

  Salaman set the egg down on the table and tapped at it with his claw. Alex thought he would break the shell, but the egg was stronger than it looked.

  “Oh child, she’s not dead,” Salaman said. He moved his focus onto her. “You can certainly resurrect her.”

  “Me?” Alex said, her eyebrows shooting up on her forehead as she pointed a finger at herself. “How can I resurrect her?”

  “Well, perhaps resurrect isn’t the correct word,” Salaman said, waving his hand in the air. “Recreate might be a better word.”

  “I don’t understand,” Alex said, shaking her head. She chanced a look at Balthazar again and noticed that he was sitting up a little straighter, his attention still focused on her. It was getting harder for her to stay angry with him.

  “You have more power than anyone gives you credit for child,” Salaman said. He reached over and patted her leg. “If you want the phoenix to live once more, you only need to use that power and make it so.”

  “I think you’re mistaken,” Alex said with a little laugh. “I don’t have any powers.”

  “Yes you do,” Balthazar said. Her eyes shot to his. He looked down at the desk. “You’ve already used them.”

  “What? No, I—“

  “Yes,” Balthazar said, nodding his head. “You healed me.”

  He looked almost ashamed to say it. Alex looked over at Salaman, trying to figure out what was going on.

  “I don’t know what you think,” Alex said, shaking her head. “But I didn’t heal you. I can’t do things like that.”

  “Of course you can,” Salaman said. “I can smell the magic rolling off of you in waves. You just don’t know how to control it. That’s why I had you two collect these things.”

  Salaman picked up the underscale from the Dragon King and turned it over in his hand, examining it. “I’m surprised King Azi was so willing to part with an underscale. I thought he hated demons. The Devasi most of all.”

  “A dragon’s reasoning cannot be understood,” Balthazar said, his jaw clenching in irritation. Just hearing about King Azi put him on edge. It wasn’t an experience that he wanted to relive.

  “So you told him to collect these things,” Alex said, waving her hand at the three items as she looked over at Salaman. “Why?”

  “Prince Balthazar can be a stubborn boy,” Salaman said, giving Alex a knowing wink. “But he means well. You needed these items near you because they contain the most magic in this realm. They were meant to help bring that out of you.”

  “Your power will not only help me to control my beast,” Balthazar said, “They are also your best shot for getting home.”

  Alex finally understood what he was saying and any vestiges of anger she was holding onto slipped away from her. She may not agree with his methods, but essentially he was trying to help her. He had intended to keep his promise all along.

  “So, you really think I can do this?” Alex asked, looking at him.

  “I know you can,” Balthazar said.

  “Why don’t you give it a try?” Salaman said, motioning to the ashes that were spread out on the desk. “Try to recreate the firebird.”

  “How do I do that?” Alex asked. She still doubted that she had any abilities at all, but if these two thought she could do it, then maybe she could. At the very least it was worth a try.

  “Here,” Salaman said, holding out the underscale for her to take. “King Azi is a very powerful dragon. His scale holds remnants of his power that may help you tap into your own. Just concentrate on what it is you want to do.”

  Alex took the scale from Salaman. It was smooth in her hands and she clutched it to her chest. She closed her eyes and tried to think of recreating a phoenix. It was a ridiculous notion to her and after a few moments of nothing happening, she opened her eyes with a huff and glared at Balthazar.

  “This isn’t working,” she said.

  “Concentrate.”

  “I am.”

  “Concentrate harder.”

  Alex heaved a sigh and closed her eyes again. This was absolutely ridiculous. She thought about Simiri and how sorry she was about what had happened. She couldn’t really be mad at Balthazar any more for what had happened. Salaman was right, he was stubborn and he was wrong in a lot of the things he did, but his intentions were well placed. She regretted that Simiri had to die so that she could maybe tap into some latent magic abilities. She wished more than anything that she could change that. Alex felt a warm sensation working its way up her hands and into her chest. Her mind began to get a little foggy and all she wanted to do was lay down and take a nap. She heard a rattling sound and opened her eyes.

  The griffin egg shook lightly on the desk as the dust of the phoenix sifted into the air around it. A wave of vibration shook the room and a spark lit from the ashes. Then another spark. The pile burst into a brilliant crimson flame, lasting only a moment.

  “Take it,” Salaman said, picking up the egg and handing it to Alex.

  The shell disintegrated in a burst of blue fire as soon as the egg touched her fingers and a bird, scarcely larger than a pigeon, came to rest on her lap. It had golden feathers, with one blue and one red eye that blinked as they tried to focus on Alex.

  “You’ve given life to a new line of firebirds,” Salaman said to Alex with a smile. “An amalgam of fire and water energies. It is quite an auspicious beginning I must say. Perhaps you are even more powerful than I thought.”

  “So, I can go home now?” Alex said with hope filling her heart. She looked over at Balthazar and felt a sudden and sharp pang of sadness. “I mean, I can
use my powers to get back?”

  “Oh no,” Salaman said with a laugh. “You are still a long way from being able to do that. No, crossing worlds is something that will take quite a lot of power and ability. Healing and recreating are the weakest of any magical talent.”

  “Oh,” Alex said, feeling a little bit disheartened. The firebird cawed in her lap and nuzzled its head on her hand. She couldn’t help but smile at the creature. She had created it. She may not be able to get home just yet, but she had created a phoenix, and that was certainly something to smile about.

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